From one Street to another

Huston Street spent three years with Colorado – the one place in the NL West where pitchers are dragged screaming to the mound – and came away thankful for his experience at Coors Field.

No complaints. No excuses. With him, that isn't merely a mantra, but a voice in his head.

His father’s voice.

Aside from the defenders of the Alamo and maybe Willie Nelson, you’d have a hard time finding a more revered man in the Lone Star State than James Street, who never lost a game as the University of Texas quarterback and guided the Longhorns to the national championship of 1969. A tremendous pitcher as well, James Street had his baseball career essentially ended at the College World Series, where he sustained an arm injury.

He turned out to be quite a businessman in the Austin area. Did a bit of umping, too.

“You know how in Little League, all the coaches and umpires are dads?” said Street, one of five sons. “When I was 11 years old, I started a game my dad was umpiring. I threw the first three pitches right down the middle, like, right down the middle. He called all three of them balls. Basically, he said, “Umpire called it a ball, so it’s a ball. Umpire might be your daddy, but umpire called it a ball, so make the next pitch.’

“I made the next pitch a strike right down the middle, but he called it ball four. He really wanted to see how I was going to react. I turned around and got mad. I’m feeling feisty. I’m 11, but I know it’s a strike, and I said it was.To his credit, he didn’t take it. He threw me out of the game.”

Ouch. Talk about tough love.

“I was furious,” said Street, “but it made me realize the sense of authority. That’s what he was trying to teach me. You can’t make excuses, can’t blame it on umpire. And if you argue with umpire, there’s consequences.